The Undercover Aurors
by General K-Star
Summary: Harry, Ron, and Hermione have graduated from Hogwarts and have become aurors. They normally work together, but what will happen when Hermione is sent on a solo mission for the first time? R&R please! CHAPTER 2 IS HERE!
1. Default Chapter

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to anything you may recognize from the Harry Potter books.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Me and my brother used to role play our own fan fiction stories before we even knew what fan fiction was (which wasn't that long ago). This story is a new version of one of my favorites.

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It had been many, many years since they had graduated from Hogwarts, and Voldemort had been defeated at the end of their seventh year. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had become aurors, but their job seemed more like that of muggle police (only they dealt with magic). They even had muggle police ranks! (Hermione had recently been promoted to captain, and Harry and Ron were still lieutenants). Their particular job was to go undercover and catch evil dark wizards. Even though Voldemort was in fact dead, there were still death eaters and dark wizards out there who refused to believe their master had gone and that he was once again biding his time. There were even rumors that one death eater was trying to replace Voldemort as the leader of the group. The three friends had always been assigned to the same mission together and would work as a team, until one day the commander assigned Hermione to a mission and refused to assign Harry and Ron to that mission as well. Despite this, Hermione continued to try and get the commander to reconsider. 

Harry and Ron were heading back to their cubicles one day after lunch. They had wondered why Hermione had decided to stay behind. As they walked by the commander's office, they heard a man and a woman arguing from inside. They turned to look through the window in the door and saw Hermione standing in the room, facing the commander as he talked to her from behind his desk.

"Uh oh," Ron said, nudging Harry with his elbow and pointing at Hermione, "I hope she's not in trouble."

Harry shook his head. "She's not," he replied, "She's probably trying to get the commander to change his mind about that mission again."

"Well we should probably wait out here until they're done. We can talk to Hermione when she comes out," Ron suggested. He and Harry turned around and leaned up against the wall, waiting for Hermione.

Meanwhile, the commander was busy telling Hermione, once again, that he refused to let Harry and Ron come with her.

"For the last time, Capt. Granger, Iwill notassign them to this mission!" he said, looking through some papers that were scattered on his desk and not making eye contact with Hermione.

"Why not, sir?" Hermione asked, trying to remain respectful as she questioned him.

"Because I can tell you have a lot of potential," the commander explained. He set down the papers and looked up at Hermione, who, even though she was staring determinedly back at him, still looked somewhat intimidated. "I've noticed that in almost every mission you've had together, you are the one who makes all the decisions and plans! Lt. Potter and Lt. Weasley need to start making decisions on their own, and you need to start making decisions for yourself and not for other people! You're an auror, not a babysitter! I will not let Potter and Weasley come with you on this mission and that's final! Now go see Sgt. Longbottom, he has some more information on the mission." As he finished the discussion, the commander picked up the papers again and continued reading.

Hermione lowered her head in disappointment. "Yes sir," she said. She walked out of the commander's office, where Harry and Ron were waiting for her in the hallway.

"Should we even bother asking you how it went?" Ron said, noticing how upset Hermione was. They had heard some of the discussion and knew exactly what it was all about.

"He's not giving in," she sighed, "He's right you know. I've been making almost all of the decisions and plans in each of our missions. You two need to start making your own decisions and plans without my help."

"But we need you!" Harry exclaimed, "You're probably ten times as clever as we are! We could never come up with the kinds of plans you come up with, let alone make them work!"

Hermione looked as though she was about to cry. "Thanks Harry," she said, "You're the best friend a girl could ask for. You too Ron," she added. She hugged both of them. They all went over to Neville's office so Hermione could get more information about the mission. Since Harry and Ron were not assigned to the mission, they were not allowed to go into Neville's office while Hermione received information. They told Hermione that they'd be waiting for her back at their cubicles (the three of them had neighboring cubicles. Harry's was in the middle, Ron's was to the left, and Hermione's was to the right.)

A few minutes later, Hermione came back to her cubicle carrying a file folder full of important documents. As she sat down and started looking through the papers, Harry and Ron approached. "So," Harry asked, "What's the mission? Or is that classified?"

"It's not really classified. I've been assigned to go undercover in a small group of even smaller islands somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle," Hermione explained, looking up from the papers. "There's a pirate colony there that consists of only wizards, but there are some muggle tourists that go there occasionally. Some death eaters have gone over there and are apparently plotting to do terrible things to the muggle-born wizards and the muggle tourists. I have to go over there and stop them from doing this by any means necessary."

"Whoa," Ron said, leaning against the cubicle wall, "That's a pretty big mission to be doing on your own, especially since you would be one of the death eaters' targets!"

"I know, but the commander's already said that he won't let you two come with me," Hermione replied.

"When do you leave?" Harry asked.

"I leave tomorrow morning," Hermione answered, "I have to travel over there by boat like everyone else does. I'd appreciate it if you two came along to see me off."

"We will," Harry promised. Ron nodded, and then they both returned to their own cubicles.

The next morning, Harry and Ron went with Hermione to the port that she would be leaving from. The boat she would be sailing on resembled an old pirate ship. Once they found the ship, Hermione stopped and turned around so she could say goodbye to Harry and Ron.

"How long will you be gone?" Ron asked.

"It will take me at least a year to go fully undercover, maybe half a year if I'm good at it," Hermione replied, "I need to learn about their social customs or people might start suspecting that I might not be one of them. It IS a pirate colony, after all. There will be loads of criminals there, but not all of them will be dark wizards. There's a small group of wizards over there who work for us. They will help me fit in with everyone else. After that, who knows how long it will be before I actually catch the death eaters. In the meantime, I've also been given the authority to arrest some of the other criminals if it's absolutely necessary. My main target, however, is the group of death eaters."

"Which ones are they?" Harry asked.

"We don't know," Hermione answered, "I have to find that out by questioning the locals. That's why I've been given the authority to arrest some of the other criminals as well: so I can question them."

"That makes sense," Harry replied, "Well I know you'll do well and make it back safely."

"Thanks Harry," Hermione said.

"Send us loads of letters so we know you're okay," Ron said.

"I will, I promise, but it may take awhile for them to get here. The Bermuda Triangle is very far away, an owl couldn't manage THAT trip easily," she said. At that moment, everyone started boarding the ship. Hermione hugged Harry and Ron and kissed them on the cheek. "I'll miss you guys," she cried.

"We'll miss you too," Harry replied, "Right Ron?"

"Yeah," Ron agreed, "Good luck, Hermione."

"Thanks," she said. She grabbed her luggage and boarded the ship. Harry and Ron waved goodbye as the ship sailed away. They could see Hermione waving back at them. They stood there and watched as the ship sailed out of sight, and then they turned and went back home.

A few months later, Harry and Ron received a letter from Hermione telling them that she had made it safely. She went on about how interesting it was to be surrounded by pirates all the time and that she had caught on to their social customs relatively quickly. She included a picture of herself dressed up like a pirate (she had to be, she was undercover in a pirate colony). Her wand was concealed in her new sword. This was a law in the colony, because there would be muggle tourists on some of the main islands of the colony and none of the wizard pirates wanted to reveal their true identity by displaying their wands out in the open. The picture made Harry and Ron laugh. They sent a response back to her saying that they were glad she made it safely and thanked her for sending the picture. They asked her to keep sending letters so they'd know she was alright.

Little did they know that the first letter she sent would also be her last…

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CLIFFHANGER!!! Chapter 2 coming soon!!! I'm gonna work on it as soon as I start getting reviews, so please review!!! I love positive reviews (who doesn't?)and I don't take flames too well. But, if no one sends even a negative review saying what I did wrong, I can never get better! And if no one ever sends any positive reviews, I'll never know how good I'm doing! I only want to know what people think of my fanfics, so just tell mewhat you think!(Of course, too many flames may make me stop writing until I can regain my self esteem, which can take awhile. So if you must flame, please just make it gentile, constructive criticism. And of course, positive reviews from fans are more than welcome!) 


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I'm not gonna bother including one for this chapter when there's already one on the first chapter. Things haven't changed since then. I still don't own the rights to anything you may recognize from any of the Harry Potter books, and I probably never will!

A year passed, and Harry and Ron still hadn't received any letters from Hermione since the first one she sent. After a few months with no word from Hermione, they simply thought that she was too busy. A few more months, and they thought maybe the owls were having trouble flying all the way from the pirate colony in the Bermuda Triangle to England. But when a year had passed, and there wasn't even a reply to the letters they sent her, Harry and Ron started to get worried.

"It's not like her to avoid contact with us for so long," Ron said one day at work after Harry had informed him that he still hadn't heard from Hermione. "She would send us loads of letters over the summer holidays when we were still in school, why would she stop now?"

"Like I said earlier," Harry replied, "maybe the owls are having trouble getting here." He kept insisting that this was the case not just to assure Ron that Hermione was ok, but more to assure himself. Harry had been getting more worried as the days passed. He had pinned her pirate picture to the wall of his cubicle, and every time he looked at it he would be filled with hope that she was still alive. But no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that Hermione was ok, he couldn't help feeling even more worried.

As Harry and Ron sat there with nothing to say at the moment, Neville came up to them. "Harry, Ron," he said, "The commander wants to have a word with both of you."

"Really?" Harry asked, "What for?"

"I don't know," Neville replied, "but I think it might be about Hermione." As he said this, Harry and Ron both got up and quickly reported to the commander's office.

As Harry and Ron stood outside the commander's open door, waiting to be asked to come in, the commander looked up from his papers and said "Come in, boys, and close the door behind you." Harry entered, followed by Ron who closed the door. Both remained standing, slightly at attention, in the presence of their boss. "Well sit down!" the commander ordered. Both of them sat down.

"Sir," Harry said, addressing the commander, "have you found out anything about Hermione yet?" After a year had passed with no word from Hermione, Harry and Ron had gone to the commander to ask if he could find out if anything had happened to her. He told them he would send an owl to the base over there and ask about her. The commander needed to send an owl anyway, because he hadn't been receiving monthly progress reports on the mission like he had instructed them to do.

"That's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about, Potter," the commander replied, his usually tough, serious expression softening into one of worry and concern. Not wanting to show any weakness, he stood up and turned to look out the window as he spoke to Harry and Ron, so they could only see his back.

"I have received a reply from my men," he said, "None of them has seen or heard from Capt. Granger for the past year. She left the base shortly after completing her undercover pirate training so she could start her mission, and no one has seen her since then. I told her to keep in contact with the base so they could send me a report of her progress, but she hasn't. And it's not like her to disobey a direct order like that." He turned to face Harry and Ron, his expression much more serious now. "I have, however, received some reports that Death Eater activity is on the rise, so she's obviously not doing her job. And it's not like her to neglect her duties, unless she's in a position where she cannot complete her objectives."

"So she's in trouble?" Harry asked, sounding worried.

"It's quite possible," the commander replied, "She's one of the best Aurors we have here. In fact, I was considering giving her a promotion when she returned. However, things seem to be taking a turn for the worst over there. Since we have not heard from her and it seems that the mission's not being completed, we have no choice but to assume that she has indeed gone missing in action. And if we cannot at least locate her, we might have to abort the mission."

"What!" Ron exclaimed, "We can't let this happen to Hermione! She's our best friend!"

"You will send someone to look for her, won't you, sir?" Harry asked.

"Funny you should ask that, Potter," the commander replied with a small grin, "because I'm sending you and Weasley to do just that."

"What!" Ron exclaimed again.

"You heard me, Weasley," the commander snapped. He sat down, pulled out two mission briefings, and handed them to Harry and Ron. "You two will be sent to the Bermuda Triangle to find out what happened to Capt. Granger," he explained, "You will both be undercover as pirates as well. When you find out what happened, send an owl to me. And, although I still don't approve of this, help her finish the mission if she's still alive. If not, return here and I'll see about sending someone else on this mission."

"Why not let us handle the mission ourselves?" Ron asked.

"Because you're not ready to handle a mission like this on your own," the commander explained, "In all of your missions, you both seem to rely on Capt. Granger to come up with strategies. I've yet to see either of you handle big missions on your own because you always insist on having Granger come with you to help. If she's dead, you won't have anyone to guide you."

"But we would work harder this time because we'd be avenging her death!" Ron said.

"Do not question my decisions, Weasley," the commander growled. He stood up again, and slowly walked around his desk and over to Ron. He put his hand on Ron's shoulder. "You want to find her alive, right?" he asked, "Is that what you're hoping for?"

"Yes, sir," Ron replied.

"THEN WHY ARE YOU ARGUING ABOUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF SHE'S DEAD!" the commander shouted in Ron's ear. Ron flinched, and the commander stood upright again. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it!" he said, "For now, just focus on finding her, alright?"

"Yes, sir," Ron said again.

"Good," the commander grinned, returning to his desk and sitting down again. "You will report to the same dock that Capt. Granger left from tomorrow. My men will brief you during the voyage and give you a very quick lesson in going undercover as a pirate. If Granger's in trouble, we can't waste any time by having you take the full training course at our base there. You have the rest of today off so you can get ready. You know, say goodbye to friends and family, pack, and all that other stuff. And I suggest you pack lightly because your mission starts the moment you disembark from the ship when it arrives at the colony, so you won't have time to deal with luggage. Any questions?"

"No sir," Harry and Ron replied in unison.

"Good, then you're dismissed," the commander said, returning to his paperwork. Harry and Ron got up and left the room to get their stuff from their cubicles.

Once they got their stuff together, Ron turned to Harry and said "Well, we'd better get going, mate."

"Hang on," Harry said, "I need to get something else." He removed the picture of Hermione dressed as a pirate from the wall of his cubicle and put it in his bag.

"Why are you bringing that?" Ron asked.

"So we can identify Hermione if we see her," Harry quickly replied.

"Harry, do you REALLY think we won't be able to recognize our own friend?" Ron asked as though what Harry said was a joke, "I mean, after all those years we've been together?"

"You never know," Harry replied, "She IS undercover, after all…"

"Oh all right," Ron groaned, "Let's just go now, ok?"

"Ok," Harry said. The two of them left the office, said goodbye, and went to their own homes so they could pack. As Harry was packing, he pulled out the picture and looked at it for a while, thinking about all the good times they'd had together, and hoping Hermione was indeed safe.

_Hang on, Hermione, _Harry thought as he put the picture away and got in bed, _We're coming._


End file.
